Pups and the Peanut Panic
Ace and Lani are visiting their Aunt Elsie and Uncle Fletcher's house for the day to spend time with their younger cousins, and to show off their new vehicles. Blitz, Camo, and Soda are excited to see them, but as usual, Crash is in trouble and in a foul mood. But the play soon turns to panic after a certain pup does something he really shouldn't have done. This story was originally a roleplay with Fuzzy, but I added more details and made it more into story form Main: *Ace *Lani *Fletcher *Elsie *Blitz *Camo *Soda *Crash Minor: *Chase *Skye *Marshall Ace and Lani waited Patiently outside of their Uncle's door, having been dropped off for a playdate with their younger cousins. Ace started anxiously at the bushes. He wasn't really used to his cousin Crash...He was more of a bully than CJ was! Fletcher answereds the door, grinning widely as he spotted the two small pups. "Hey! If it isn't my two favorite fluffballs!" He snickers and noogies them both, tail wagging in delight. "Hehe. C'mon in squirts, the others have been looking forward to seeing ya!" Lani laughs and hugs Fletcher happily, even after the noogie. "Hi Uncle Fletch!" She croons, her eyes shimering as she looked up at her Uncle. Ace grins and fixes his fur, flattening the stray-away fur. "Where's Aunt Elsie?" He mused as the trio walked inside. Fletcher sighed, his ears flicking a bit. "Aunt Elsie's in the kitchen giving Crash a little..Warning. I guess you could say, he's in quite a mood today! Hehe... If he bothers you just tell me though. C'mon in, Blitz and the others are in the playroom!" He leads them into the playroom where Soda, Blitz and Camo are playing with a race set, gathered in a circle around the track. Ace gulped a bit before following his Uncle to the playroom, spotting a glimpse of Crash as they passed the Kitchen. He smiled when he saw the nicer pups playing in the room. Lani grinned and bounced over to the younger pups. "Hey guys!" She smiles, running over to them and sitting down excitedly. "Whatcha playin?" Camo looked at his cousin, a grin on his muzzle. "I'm playing with my new race set! Isn't it awesome! Grab a control, bet I can beat you at laps!" He barks as he hands a controller to Lani. Blitz shook her head, popping to her paws. "Camo, Lani is a girl, and girls play dollies!" Camo stuck his tongue out in disagreement, scrunching his nose at his sister. "Nu uh! Girls can play with cars too!" "Camo is right, Blitz! I don't even really like playing with dollies- I like stuff like this!" Lani smirks and looks at Camo. She takes the controller from him happily, setting her sights on her car you're on! Camo and Lani start playing with the cars, both of them going at an amazing speed as they laugh and shout competitively. Meanwhile, Soda skips over to Ace, a wide smile on her face. "Hi big cousin Ace! How are you today?" Ace smiles and hugs Soda, enjoying the company of the sweet puppy. "Heya! Pretty good! We brought our new vehicles with us- was wondering if you'd wanna make the siren blare later." He gives her a small grin, whispering to her so the other pups wouldn't hear and want to get in on the action. "Oooh! Really!?" Her tail starts wag again, faster than it already was. "I want to do that! It sounds like fun!" Ace laughed. "Yeah, really!" *he smiles, giving her another hug. He paused as the door to the playroom creaked open slowly. Elsie walked in with Crash at her heels, sulking and growling at the floor. "Hey you two, glad you could both come over!" She smiles warmly at Ace and Lani, then looks down at Crash, glaring a hard, stern, motherly glare. "Crash, you be nice to your cousins and siblings, I'll call you when I need help with lunch." Crash growls lowly then walks into the room with his head held low, he marches over to Blitz and sits beside her. Lani let out a loud laugh as her tiny car zoomed around the track. "Ahah- these things are Fast!!" "I know right!" Camo beamed, leaning to the side, as if it helped his car turn faster. "Hi Aunt Elsie! Thanks for having us over!" Ace responded to her, trying to ignore the loud growl coming from his cousin. Lani paused to briefly look at her aunt. "Yeah~! I love your house!" While still pressing the buttons on the controller, she stands up to give Elsie's leg a hug, continuing to race around. Ace looks anxiously at Crash, his fur starting to puff up nervously. Elsie chuckled softly. "It's no problem guys! You know how much we all love having you both over." She hugs Lani, then looked towards the door. "Well, I'll be in the kitchen with Fletcher if any of you squirts need me!" She gave one last glance at Crash before exiting the room. Crash glares at Ace as his mother leaves the room, giving him a hard, cold stare. Lani glares back at Crash with frustration. "Whatcha glarin' at, Crash?" She raises an eyebrow, not taking any nonsense from the rude pup. Crash sneered, retorting back, "Why do you care, odd eyes? Got a problem?" Lani rolls her eyes, snarling back at him. "You're such a brat." She spat, wrinkling her nose at her younger cousin. Crash rolled his eyes back, looking to the side. "Hmph. Sure" He kicked a toy to the side, laying down and putting his head onto his paws. He snorted and watched them under angry eyebrows. Camo sighed and focused on the race track, his tail thumping against the ground. "Ignore him Lani, he's being extra bratty this week." Ace quickly looks at Soda, gulping. "S-So how you been..?" He murmured as he tried to ignore the tension slowly growing in the room. Soda piped up, noticing Ace's nervousness. "I-ive been great! Papa says he's going to take me over to the lookout someday soon! I can't wait to meet all the other pups!" Ace chuckled softly, though his fur bristled at the insult that Crash spat out to Lani. "That'd be fun, Soda! He tries his hardest to smile despite the anxiousness clenching his heart. "My friends would really like you~ We could go tomorrow if it's okay with your parents." Lani chuckled, putting down her controller. "She should meet Winter first~" Ace blushed a fierce red, tail poofing up. "Lani!" Soda giggled, her ears perking a bit. "Winter? She sounds nice!" Blitz gasps then smirks, giggling like her sister as she scooted closer to Ace. "Am I detecting a cruuuush?" she crooned in a sing-song voice. Lani chuckled, winking at her brother as he turned even darker. "Sooorta! He asked her on a date, but he hasn't officially asked her to be his girlfriend yet!" Ace puts his paws over his muzzle in embarrassment, curling into a ball on the floor. "Hnnggg!!" was the only sound that would come from his throat. Blitz giggled, poking him gently with her paws, causing him to laugh and uncurl from his armadillo pose. "Daww! Puppy love! How adorable! Don't worry Ace, we'll keep your secret!" She beamed, continuing to prod him. Crash looked up, lifting his head from his paws. "This Winter pup sounds sweet, might introduce myself to her." He smirks evilly, raising an eyebrow as Ace's fur puffed up even more "Don't you dare." Lani snarled, throwing her head in Crash's direction. "Winter is a sensitive pup!" "Sounds like she needs a bad boy to toughen her up, no wonder she doesn't see anything in Ace of diamonds over there." He responded, casually looking at his paws as Ace fought the urge to tear up. Lani stood up, going closer to Crash with an angry flare glowing in her eyes. "Winter loves Ace!" She snarls, pressing her paw to Crash's chest as he sits up straight. "You should have seen the look on her face when he gave her flowers! She's a shy pup, but is so happy when Ace is around her. You just scare girls away from how much of a jerk you can be!" Crash let out another laugh, throwing his head back before getting close to Ace, pressing his nose with his paw. "Awww wittle Ace, the love struck runt- How cute! No wonder girls love you, you act like one of them! Should try this thing sometime, it's called being a man!" Soda jumped between her brother and her cousin, a disapproving pout on her face. "Hey! Leave Ace alone, Crash!" Crash pushed his sister back, his eyes flashing with anger. "Why don't you try and make me?!" He snarls, snapping his jaws at the white and tan pup. Lani snarls viciously and shoves him back and away from Soda as Ace hugged the younger pup close to him. "At least he actually has a heart! People like him because he's NICE. Because he CARES about people!!" Ace watches on as he hugs Soda, feeling his eye twitching a bit, jaw clenching tightly as insults were spat back and forth. Crash rolled his eyes, pushing Lani to the side. "I wasn't talking to you, Oddball!!" He sneers and turns his attention back to Ace. "How sad. You can't even fight your own battles." A low chuckle rumbled from Crash's throat as he sneered at Ace. The other pups were at their limit, their fur bristling as they tried to control their out-of-control brother. "Crash that's enough! Shut it or I'll tell mom you're picking on Ace!" Crash just rolled his eyes, brushing his paw against the fur on his head. "Go ahead, Ace is too much of a wimp to fight for himself anyways it seems." Soda whimpered, backing up to look Ace in the eyes. "Ignore him Ace, he's just trying to make you mad..." But it was too late.... Something inside Ace just snapped. His body felt heavy and his heart felt like a lump of rock sinking in his chest. "JUST SHUT UP!!" He bellows, his eyes shut tightly. Lani stares at her brother in surprise, never hearing him yell like that before. Ace slowly opened his eyes, taking a shaky breath as he tried to compose his words. "Why are you such a jerk to everyone?! What the heck did we EVER do to you for you to be such a...a..a BULLY! My friends like me, my family likes me, I have a JOB!! Do you have nothing better to do than to be so mean to everyone around you?!" Camo, Blitz and Soda give each other shocked glances, very taken aback by Ace's sudden outburst. "You wanna know why I'm a "Bully" to you?! I'll tell you why! You're all I ever hear about! "oh Crash you're such a jerk, why can't you be like your cousin?" I don't know why they find you so amazing, you're just a scared little runt, you and your precious sister is too!" Blitz piped up, tugging at her collar as her fur fluffed up in anger. "Crash, that's enough!!" Lani felt her anger boiling over, her multicolored eyes flaring in pure frustration and rage. "Scared runt?! I fly over the city with a jetpack!! I'm not scared! Ace has saved my life! He's anything but a coward, Crash!" The two were about to lunge towards each other, but Fletcher walked into the room, a bit of an annoyed look on his face. "Dudes, you're really loud, What's going on in here?" He gazed over the glances of the pups, sensing the tension and letting out a bit of a sigh. "Crash, your mother wants you in the kitchen to help make lunch." Crash mumbles to Ace, "lucky break.." He pushes him back once more and trudges into the kitchen Fletcher sighed, noticing the distressed looks all around the room. "Ace, you okay? Was he giving you trouble?" Ace didn't say anything at first, frustrated tears in his eyes as he walks to the corner, his teeth grit and fur bristling as he lowered his head into the crevice of the wall, curling his tail around him tightly, shoulders starting to shake a little bit as he fought the tears back. Lani snorted, sitting down and trying to calm her nerves by taking some deep breaths. "Crash was being a jerk again....." She murmurs to her uncle, not looking away from her brother. Fletcher sighed again, his ears folding back sadly. "Camo, take your sisters and Lani upstairs to your room. I want to talk with Ace." Camo nodded obediently, walking towards the door. "Yes papa.. C'mon guys." He leads Lani, Soda, and Blitz upstairs, leaving Fletcher and Ace alone in the playroom. Fletcher walks over to Ace and sits beside him, wrapping a paw around him and pulling him close. "You okay buddy? What did he say to you?" Ace sighed, leaning into his Uncle's foreleg, holding onto him tight. "He told us that he's a bully cause he doesn't see why he's being compared to such a scared little runt like me and Lani....And that Winter only likes me because i act like a girl..." He stares at the floor, sniffing gently as he tried to "man up". "Okay, First, that's him trying to guilt trip you. We don't compare our puppies to anyone else's, he's a bully because, well, I supposed you could say it's in his genes. His mother and I weren't the nicest pups in the neighborhood, but we're good now. So I'm sure he'll grow out of it like we did." He picks Ace up and hugs him close. "And as for what he said about you and little Winter, that's not true, you're a brave pup. Wanna know how I know that?" Fletcher paused before seeing the nod from his nephew. "Cause you're not afraid to tell the truth, which makes you super manly!" He ruffles his fur tuft, earning a smile from Ace. "Buuuut if you are girly you get it from your Dad, not me." He chuckles, winking at him. Ace hugged into Fletcher, smiling a bit from the ruffle and the silly comment about Chase. "I just care a lot for my friends and family.... It hurts when people make fun of them..Especially coming from a member of my own family...." Fletcher nodded, just stroking his fur comfortingly. "Hey, I know how you feel, but you shouldn't let crabby Crash get to you, he's just a grump! I'll be having a stern talking with him later but you just head upstairs and play with your sister and the others. I bet Soda's lost without you, she really looks up to you, you know. I'll be in the kitchen helping Elsie with lunch! Hope y'all like PB and J!" "Alright Uncle Fletcher..... Oh! Lani can't have peanut butter, remember? She's extremely allergic.... A ham sandwich would be better for her." Ace barked, remembering her allergy with a bit of a puff in his chest. He definitely didn't want Lani getting hurt again. Fletcher nodded, a serious look popping up on his face. "Oh right! Thanks for reminding me kiddo, wouldn't want a repeat of last time! You head upstairs and play with the others, lunch will be up in a few." Fletcher heads into the kitchen while Ace heads upstairs to his cousins and sister. "Hey Els- little Lani is allergic to peanuts, better give her ham." Elsie looked over her shoulder at her mate, a look of surprise crossing her muzzle. "Oh, I didn't know she was allergic... ham it is then." Crash tilted his head, looking at his parents with confusion. "Allergic? What's that mean?" Fletcher didn't look at him as he helped Elsie prepare the sandwiches. "It just means she can't eat peanuts or else something bad will happen to her." Crash just smirks evilly, eyeing the jar of peanut butter to the right of him. _________ Ace managed to make his way up the stairs through the door in front of him, ears folded back. "Hey everyone.." Soda bounded over to him as fast as her paws could take her. "Hey big cousin Ace! Are you feeling better now?" She smiles nervously, looking up at him with bright eyes. Ace smiles a bit, rubbing the top of her head gently. "Kinda...Your dad gave me a nice talk..." Soda droops her ears a bit, hearing the sad tone coating Ace's voice. "But you're still sad cause of what Crash said...?" "A bit... But i'm not gonna let it bug me.." He smiles again and leans down to nuzzle Soda. Lani looked over at him, smiling a little bit. "It was brave that you stood up to him, Ace..." Soda races back over and snuggles up to him. "Yup, it was so brave! I want to be brave like that one day too! Ace chuckles anxiously, nodding as he walked over and sat next to his sister. "Yeah, I guess so..." He smiled and put his paw around her. "But you already are brave, Soda..What are you guys doing?" Camo turned from where he was plugging cables into the Television. "We were gonna put on the xbox and play real racing! Wanna play? I've got four controllers!" Camo smiles and hands him a controller as Ace nods. "Prepare to be schooled by the master of real racing!" Ace just laughs, shaking his head. "I'm not very good- but i'll try!" Lani snickered, a determined look bright in her eyes. "I bet I could keep up with you, Camo!" Camo snickered, raising his eyebrows competitively. "I bet you can't!" "I bet i can!" Elsie laughed as she walked into the room. "Woah Camo, let's not get over-competitive. Here you go pups," She places a tray of sandwiches on the floor, "Peanut butter and jelly! Oh, and ham for Lani, Fletcher told me about your allergy." Ace looks up at the large rottie with a smile. "Yum! I'm starving! Thanks Aunt Elsie~" Lani giggles and grabs her ham sandwich eagerly, her stomach growling a bit as she finally realized how hungry she was. "Thanks!" Elsie chuckled softly and left the room. "No problem little dudes, let me know if you need anything else." Soda took a whiff of the sandwich, smiling in delight. "Mmmm! I love peanut butter!" Ace chuckled and nodded. "It smells pretty good! But make sure none of you guys let Lani have any...." Lani rolled her eyes and smiled a bit sadly. "I wish i could have it. But I like ham more anyways." She snickers and takes a bite of her sandwich, tail thumping happily against the floor. Soda paused before taking a bite of her sandwich. "Wait, you can't eat peanut butter?" Blitz nodded, speaking up before Lani could respond. "Yeah, papa told us she was allergic, remember?" Lani nodded as she chews on her sandwich, tail still wagging. "Yeah....Things get really....Bad...." her face looks sort of red, but she swallows her bite, preparing for another. Ace seemed concerned, noticing her face growing redder. "...Lani....? Are you alright..?" Lani lowered her food, feeling a slight aching feeling spreading throughout her body. "Not...Sure..." She murmured, slowly getting her words out. Soda tilted her head in slight fear. "Cousin Lani? A-Are you okay?" "Y-you didn't eat the wrong sandwich did you?" Blitz squeaked, looking nervously at the sandwich in Lani's paws. Lani lifted the bread on her sandwich, seeing some peanut butter smeared on the ham. ".........." Her body starts to shake a bit, eyes watery as she stares at the tainted meat with a look of horror. Ace jumped at the sight of her reaction, yanking the sandwich from her and letting out a yip of alarm. He dropped the sandwich immediately, then called downstairs- "A-Aunt Elsie!! Uncle Fletcher!!!" Fletcher runs in with Elsie close at his heels and Crash following behind as they heard the yelling. "What's happened?!" He barked, then sees Lani curled up on the floor, a low whine coming from the pup's muzzle. "Oh my god, Elsie call Chase and the others! Quickly!!" He rushes over and holds her gently as her body starts to swell slowly. "What happened?!?!" Ace stammered, trying to keep his composure. "Th...There's peanut butter on the ham!!" his eyes shoot wide in a panic, then notices the slight smirk on Crash's face as he stays in the doorway. "...D...Did you do this.....?" He barely manages to whisper out as his body shakes. "Uncle Fletcher, I have her Epipens in my ambulance, we have to go outside, NOW!!" Lani whimpers and trembles as the swelling starting to accelerate, her cheeks starting to puff up wide like a chipmunk and she grows limp in Fletcher's paws, whimpering in pain and fear. Fletcher nodded, "Okay lil buddy." He picks Lani up carefully by her scruff and rushes past Crash, who's still sitting in the doorway. He heads down the stairs with the Ace and the three pups rushing behind him. Elsie rushes out behind them, alarm and fear coating her face like a thick mask. "Chase and some of the others are on their way." Ace gets into his vehicle, transforming it into it's makeshift mobile doctor office. As Fletcher puts Lani on the gurney, Ace prepares the Epipen. "Alright Lani, you're gonna be okay!!" Ace takes a deep breath and stabs her leg with the epipen, watching as she took a deep gasp for breath as her airway was slowly cleared. "I got more medicine...." He murmured and hooks her up to an IV, starting and preparing for a flush of her system. Fletcher comforted his three pups who are on then verge of tears, he was also tearing up. "It's okay pups, Lani will be alright." the sound of sirens can be heard coming down the street, Everyone except for Ace and Lani turn and see Skye, Chase, and Marshall rushing down the street. Elsie whimpered a bit, her chest heaving. "This is my fault.." Ace took a shaky breath, walking over to his Aunt and Uncle. "..... Uncle Fletcher....?" He murmurs, looking at him with tears in his eyes. "......Did you see Crash's face.....?" Fletcher looked down at him with confusion, not understanding. "H-Huh? What do you mean..?" The PAW Patrol arrive at that moment, Marshall going over to examine Lani, and Skye and Chase rush to their baby's side. Chase barked loudly, eyes dilated in fear as he lashed out- "What's happened?! Did you give her peanuts, Fletcher?!" Ace felt his fur bristling. "H...He was smiling....I ...I know you and Aunt Elsie wouldn't do that....You guys are C....Careful..." Ace turns to Chase as he turned to the older German Shepherd. "Dad- it wasn't Uncle Fletcher's fault!!!" Fletcher felt his heart sink into his chest. "Smiling?!" Fletcher felt a long, deep growl escape from his throat. "Excuse me, I have to deal with my son." Elsie shook her head, putting her paw on his shoulder. "No no, you stay here babe..I'll handle him." She nods with an iron look in her eyes and goes inside. Camo barked angrily, his fur bristling like a hedgehog as he puffed his body up as big as he could. "Crash is a jerk! He's gone too far this time!" Soda was sobbing against her Fletcher's leg, eyes wide with terror. "I-Is cousin Lani *sniff* okay?" Ace feels his tail fluff up as he starts to panic a bit, then sighs as he hugs his cousins, trying to remain strong. "....She'll be okay....She just needs to rest for a while........ I ...I can't believe he would stoop so low.....He could ....He could have killed her..." Ace felt a weird twinge in his heart. Crash had done some awful things...But this....This. Was the last straw. Fletcher shook his head sadly, his fur still bristled up. "Chase... I'm sorry I let this happen..." Chase looked over his brother a few times and sighs ".......It's not your fault, Fletcher...I'm sorry for lashing out at you....I know you love my daughter as much as I do..." Blitz frowned, putting her paw on Ace's shoulder. "We can take her up to me and Soda's room, she can sleep there." Ace watched his dad and his uncle for a bit before looking to his side where his cousin was. "....Alright Blitz...." He and Marshall move Lani slowly into the house, carefully manuevering her IV. They lift Lani up to the stairs and to the girls' room and lay her in Blitz's bed. They then head to the living room where Elsie passes them and carries Crash up to his room by his scruff. She leaves him in the room and joins the rest in the living room. Elsie looked at the ground in disgust and horror of what her son had just done. "He's grounded for three months...Maybe longer." Fletcher just shook his head in disbelief, closing his eyes so tight. "He almost killed her... I wish he would behave, he's so unruly..." Ace feels his face burning as he holds back the tears forming, his body starting to feel heavy and tight. "First he insults us and then he tries to KILL Lani?!" He feels his fur standing on end, his voice cracking and shaky as he looks in horror at his Aunt and Uncle. "Wh...What did we ever do to him..? Why would he do such an awful thing??? I could have lost my sister!" Chase stepped forward, reaching his paw out towards Ace. "Son..." Ace recoiled from his touch, his body shivering in anger and frustration. "No- dad! I really want to know! I've been nothing but kind to him and he just spits it back into my face! Lani didn't deserve that! She didn't deserve it at all!" his tears spill down his cheeks and onto the floor. "He was smiling through it all! S-Smiling!!" "I don't know why he acts like this!!! He's been a bully since the day he was born, we've tried training, obedience, even Elsie's military discipline, nothing works!!! I need a minute..." Fletcher shouted and sobbed in anger, then let out a shaky sigh before walking out of the room. Soda crawls over to Ace and Chase, snuggling between them both. "My papa is a good papa...Crash is just bad. I think he's mean cause he's jealous that he can't talk to people cause he's mean..." As Soda talked, Crash walks in to the room with his head held low. Ace tries to stop his tears, but they keep flowing as he leaned slightly into Soda. "I...I just didn't want to believe that he was that bad....I always thought that deep down he had a good side to him....But....After this....I don't know what to think....The fact that he'd try to hurt his own cousin this badly......It hurts........" Soda nodded quietly before speaking back up again, "I bet he does have a good side. Maybe it just takes a certain pup to bring that out in him?" Crash sat beside the door, looking up a tad bit. "Ace.." Ace looks at Crash, his mouth in a tight line as his tail fluffs up. ".........Why?" Was all he could manage to say as he stared hard at the sulking pup. Crash rubbed his arm, looking down again. "I wanted to see what would happen...I didn't think it would almost kill her...C-Can I talk to you outside..?" "...........Allergies aren't something to mess with, Crash..." he murmurs, then walks out the door. He sat outside waiting for Crash, not saying a word. Crash follows and shuts the door behind them. He then sits awkwardly in front of Ace and shuffles dirt around with his paws. ".....You hate me, don't you...?" ".......I don't know, to be honest....What you did was so low.....I can't even bare the thought.... That was extremely awful.... What you did was so careless and horrific- She's extremely allergic...." "I didn't think it'd nearly kill her...I-I-I...I'm sorry..." "There's a reason why she couldn't have peanut butter...No matter what you think it could have done, you shouldn't have done it....Being sorry isn't going to cut it for me this time...." Ace sighs, tail thumping in frustration. "I...I could have lost her for good....." Crash stammered over his words "....L-Look...I'm sorry, I'm really sorry... And I mean it cause I've never apologised before...I really didnt know what would happen. Doesn't matter anyways, I'm not forgiven." He gets up and starts to head down the street. "Don't leave, Crash." Ace shakes his head. "It may take a while for me to forgive you....But I truly want to know why you're so mean to everyone...? We've tried to be nice to you.....Do you know how excited I was when I found out we had cousins..?" Crash whipped around, a look of hostility glazing his eyes. "Wanna know why I'm mean?! Cause I have to be.. I figured if nobody liked me when I was nice, they'll at least listen to me when I'm mean, and it works doesnt it? I got inside everyone's heads. I just can't make friends as well as my brothers and sisters can..I've just accepted that. I'm an outcast.." Ace looked confused and slightly angry at his sudden statement. "What do you mean nobody liked you when you were nice...? I'' liked you, Crash..... But then you started to bully me....And it really hurts. I tried to be your friend....I wanted to be your friend.....But you ended up scaring me..." "When dad first took is out we went to the park and I tried to be nice to some kids but all they did was call me a runt, besides, being mean is a way of making others listen and notice you, I never wanted friends anyways.." "But where will it get you later in life? My mom's best friend...Auntie Tundra....Her brother was like you.....He was mean and rude....And he was alone..... He had no friends besides his owner..... He had no family that loved him cause they were all scared of him.....But once he redeemed himself, he's been so much happier....He has a mate...Even has kids of his own....." He sighs and looks sadly at Crash. "...You returned those words that those bullies said to you and turned them back onto me.....My friend Sage was bullied...But he didn't turn mean...he stood up for himself and he fought back...." Crash rolled his eyes at the mention of Blizzard. "He doesn't sound very tough, he sounds like a wimp, caving in to a pretty face. You don't get it...as long as I'm mean and a brute, no one can hurt me..Not like before, not like any girl would be interested in me anyways." Ace snorted, his anger boiling back up again. The ignorance! "He didn't cave into a pretty face! He caved in because he kidnapped my friends and their parents chewed him out for being a low-life who has no family! He found Avalanche ''AFTER he redeemed himself! You're going to get into bad places if you keep acting like this....You're just going to end up hurting yourself." he just shakes his head, fur bristling more and more ".....I don't even know why i'm trying...You're just shooting everything back at me...." The last bit of hope disappears from his eyes as he stands up, a scowl on his face "...If you excuse me i'm going to see if Lani needs more medicine." with his final word, Ace goes inside with his tail puffed up as he marches back in, shutting the door with a slight slam. Crash raises an eyebrow as his cousin storms inside. "Hmph. Loser, I don't need him and his speeches to tell me what to do." He storms off down the street, disappearing around the corner. Meanwhile, Back inside..... Soda looked at Ace as he came back upstairs with a dead expression on his face. "Cousin Ace! You're back!" She paused as she noticed the sadness coating him. "Was Crash being mean to you again? "I tried and I don't even know why i did. He's stubbron and rude and doesn't listen to anything..." He sighs and changes Lani's IV, pulling the blanket up more on her. "I hate that he's like this." Soda whimpered a bit,"Oh..I'm sorry for whatever he said to you cousin Ace..He's so mean." She then drops her voice and whispers, "Personally I think he was dropped as a newborn." she giggles, "But you shouldn't let him get to you!" "He said some pups bullied him the first time that your dad took you to the park... " He strokes Soda's head softly, looking at her sadly. "I just wish he could see what he's doing is wrong..." "Really? He never told us that..." She nuzzles her cousin. "maybe he just needs a best friend! Everyone needs a best friend!" Ace shook his head and sighs, stroking Lani's head as she stirred slightly in her deep sleep. "Well, I tried...But he keeps spitting venom back at me and i'm done trying.....I give up...." Soda nodded quickly. "I know..it's okay, besides im sure he'll brighten up someday! Hopefully.. I can't wait until tomorrow! Papa said he'll take us to the Lookout!" Ace gave a small smile, trying to be cheery for her sake. "Yeah that'll be fun..You get to meet all my friends~" Soda giggled and clapped her paws, bouncing around. "Eee! I can't wait!" Camo walks in through the door, tail drooping slightly. "Oh h-hey dudes, I was just wondering if Lani was up but I guess not..." "Sorry Camo..She's still sleeping... Out like a rock.." Ace muttered, tucking Lani in more. Camo pouted a bit, sitting down next to her, near the bed. "Oh man...mom feels really bad...she thinks it's her fault and Dad and uncle Chase are arguing again..." Ace frowned again, his ears drooping. he walks downstairs, a defeated look on his face as the brunt of the arguing hits his ears. Elsie was in the kitchen with Skye and Blitz, trying to stay out of the argument. Chase was shouting loudly, his fur bristled angrily. "That pup of yours is so unruly! He could have killed my daughter with his ignorance!!" Fletcher shouted back, barking in frustration- "it's not my fault he's this way!! We didn't raise him to be like this- He just is!!" Ace felt anger boiling in his throat...Something he'd never felt before. The shouting and the fighting....He just couldn't take it anymore.... "Everyone... Just...STOP FIGHTING!!!!" Everyone in the house going quiet and stops fighting, even Soda and Camo, who were quite scared by their older cousin's outburst, go silent and take a step back. Soda whimpers and drops her ears. "Ace is right.." Ace felt teeth grinding, nothing but anger boiling through his veins. "Fighting isn't going to help Lani get better! She needs peace and quiet and love and support, n...not this! It's not. his. fault. Dad! You even said so earlier! Why are you turning it back to him, dad?!" He growled, turning towards his father. "He's tried to help Crash! I tried to help crash! But nothing works! It's not Uncle Fletcher's fault so please stop blaming him!! He loves us just as much as he loves his own pups, do you really think he would let Crash do something like this on purpose?!" Fletcher looks up at chase with a smirk plastered on his face. "You've just been told." Chase growls, then drops it, knowing Ace was right. ".....I'm sorry.." Skye jumped between the boys, looking concerned. "Okayyyyyy, before another fight starts out, I think it's time we took Lani and Ace.....and Chase..Home to have a good nights rest..." Elsie nodded in exhaustion, the look on her face was pure guilt and sadness. "I agree. sleep will help everyone." Ace looks at his dad, who just sighs and shakes his head. "....We shouldn't move Lani right now....Maybe it would be best if Lani and I stay here...?" The large rottweiler responded first, "That's fine with us, We can watch over Lani tonight." Chase sighed, "Okay, call is if there's any trouble." He pats Ace on the head and then walks out, pretty shaken from the whole ordeal. Skye places a kiss on Aces head, giving him a tight, warm hug. She stroked her son's cheek with her paw, tears glistening in her eyes. "You're a good boy, Ace....Take care of your sister." Ace nodded and hugged her back. "I will mom." She gives him another hug and he watches as they leave the room. "We'll be back over tomorrow to meet up with the others.." Soda giggled as she shut the door after waving goodbye to her Aunt and Uncle, and Marshall. "Yay! Sleepover!" Ace smiles at Soda, standing up. "Got that right~ " "Yay!! Let's play dress up!" Soda giggles, bounding up the stairs. Blitz clapped her paws together in excitement. "Ooh! I call princess!" She follows her sister and rushes upstairs to the dress-up box. Ace laughs a bit anxiously. "Oh man..." He looks at Camo, "What do we dress as??" Camo gulped. "We have to be either fairies or prince charmings...I wish I had a brother that would actually play with me, ugh.." Soda giggled and called from upstairs "I want to be the prince!" With a sigh, Camo and Ace shared a look. "...We have to be fairies." Ace nods gently, looking a bit saddened for his Cousin. "Lani's the closest thing I have to a brother and sadly she's bedridden right now....." He sighs and and nudges Camo's shoulder gently with his muzzle. "Someday Crash will realize he's made a mistake.....I hope..." Ace looked towards the door, then towards the stairs. "Now let's get our wings..." Camo smiled and wagged his tail innocently. "I can be your brother! Only if you'll be mine though! Heh heh...." He smiled and then sighed again, the grin fading a little bit. "Okay...You want the sparkly ones or the ones with sequins?" Ace chuckled and shook his head as the boys made their way up to the girls. "Sure, Camo.....And sparkles please." "okay! To the dressing up box! I'm taking the purple dress by the way! Pink is NOT my color!!" Camo barks as he breaks into a run upstairs. Ace yelped and raced after him. "Awww no fair!!! At least it will match my eyes though!" Camo laughed and looked over his shoulder. "Yeah! I bet you'll look pretty!" The boys both laugh as they head into Camo and Crash's room, Where Soda and Blitz are already in their costumes. The boys begrudgingly slip into their fairy costumes, Ace tugging at the wings a little bit uncomfortably. "So...Uh.... What do we do...?" He murmured. Blitz piped up, wagging her tail in excitement. "the fairies have to turn prince soda into a frog!" Camo laughed, waving his paw. "Puh, easy!" Ace looked at his cousin and waved a wand at her. "uh..Bippity boppity boo?" "Oh no!" Soda cried out, "Now I'm a frog!" she exclaimed as she put on a pair of antennas. "Frogs don't have antennas!" Blitz barked in correction. Soda looked up, poking at the wobbly wires. "They don't? Well now i'm a caterpillar!" Ace snickered, playing with the wand in his paw. "Whoops, wrong spell." Camo bounded to his paws, waving his wand around. "Don't worry! I can fix it! ALAKAZAM!" Soda giggled and plopped down low to the ground. "Now I'm a frog! Ribbit!!" Blitz strode up towards Soda, her paw dramatically clutched against her forehead. "I am a fair Princess, and I am looking for a knight to marry me!" Soda looked up at her sister, wiggling about. "Ribbit! I'm a knight!" Blitz scrunched her nose up in distaste, looking at her brother and cousin. "I'm not kissing a frog! That's unsanitary!" Camo facepawed, shaking his head. "Just do it!" Ace tried to stiffle a giggle. Blitz grimmaced and then kissed the "frog". Soda leapt back up straight onto her paws, standing regally. "Yay! I'm a knight again!" Ace waved his paw around, looking around the room. "Yaayyy.. now you guys can get married and live happily ever after....Now what?" Soda tapped her paw against her chin in thought, then beamed as she got an idea, bouncing over to the television. "now, let's watch Disney movies!" Blitz raced over, reaching into the DVD cabinet. "I vote Cinderella!" Camo faceplanted and howled in distress. They had enough of princess stuff for one day! "Whyyy!!" Ace nodded frantically, jumping towards the cabinets and scrambling for a better movie to watch. He picked up a red cover and lifted it up for them all to look at. "H-How about Bolt??" Soda clapped her paws, eyes lighting up excitedly as she glanced at the white pooch on the cover. "Yeah! I wanna watch that!" "Yes!!" Camo barks, running over and gets the dvd into the player before Blitz puts Cinderella on. Ace breathes a sigh of relief, then noticed as Lani trudges into the room, yawning a bit. Her eyes were a bit glazed and hazy with sleep, but her body wasn't swollen anymore, and she looked like she could breathe normally once again. She smiled as she rubbed her eyes, sitting near a bean bag. "Hey....I'm feeling a little better no- ..." Lani trails off as she stares at Ace and Camo, still in their pretty, glittery fairy outfits. "What in the world are you wearing?" Camo blushed fiercely as he and Ace exchanged embarrassed glances. "Hehe..." He chuckled anxiously as he throws his wand across the room. "Nothinggggg..." Soda giggled and then bounded over to the older cockapoo-shepherd mix, hugging her tightly. "Lani! You're okay!" Blitz spoke up from her spot in the room, a bit pouty to have her movie rejected. "You're just in time to watch Bolt!" Lani chuckled and hugged Soda back, nuzzling her gently. "Yeah...I feel a bit better. A bit woozy but i'll be alright." Ace nodded, a huge weight lifting from his shoulders seeing that his sister was back to normal. Two times he's almost lost her now... "That's a relief to hear, sis." "You need a glass of water or soemthing? I can get one for you?" Camo offered, standing up as he looked at Lani a bit worriedly. Lani nodded slowly as she stroked Soda's back as the little one continued to hug her. "That'd be nice..." she smiles warmly, "Thanks cous...." Camo nodded enthusiastically, eager to help. "I'll get that now!" He nods as he runs downstairs. Fletcher's voice suddenly rang up loud and clear from the kitchen. "CAMO?! What in the world are you wearing?!?" Soda snickers and Lani starts to laugh, paw to her forehead as she tried not to laugh too hard, her body still a tad bit sore. "Oohhh boy..." Camo comes back in with a glass of water, a look of pure embarrassment on his face. "....Here you go.." Soda laughed like a hyena, clutching her sides. "Hahaha!" She snorted until she falls over laughing, causing Camo to turn an even darker shade of red. ".....Can we watch Bolt now???" He squeaked, taking off the dress. Ace laughs and takes off his costume quickly. "Yes we can." Soda giggled and sat next to Ace, leaning against him. "I love bolt so much!" Blitz smiled and sighed dreamily, "Yes, he's so handsome!" Soda fake gags, rolling her eyes at her sister. "Ewwww!" as soon as Camo was fully out of his costume he spoke up again, the embarrassment wiped from his face. "I'll get popcorn!" He runs back out and then returns a few minutes later, carefully carrying a bowl of popcorn into the room. He sat it down in front of the group of pups and plopped down on a bean bag. Ace kept his eyes on the screen, wagging his tail as the movie progressed. Oh how he wished he could be a super dog like Bolt.... "He's so cool! I wish i was strong.." Camo nodded in agreement, leaning against the bag after reaching for a pawful of popcorn. "Right? I wish I could run super fast too! Then I could easily sneak down for cookies!" Lani snickered and shot Camo a teasing look, "And not get busted by Uncle fletcher for wearing a dress." Camo's face reddened again as he turned his attention to the screen. Fletcher walks into the room, looking worried and concerned as he counted how many pups there were. "Hey.. Have any of you pups seen Crash? I can't find him." Ace shook his head, looking up at the older dog. "...Last I saw him we were outside arguing......" Fletcher sighed, and rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh. He must've wandered off, I better go find him. The streets aren't the safest place to be at night.... You kids just enjoy your sleepover.. Bedtime after the movie by the way." Soda, Camo, and Blitz nod and respond, "Okay papa!" Ace and Lani nod as well, "Alright Uncle...." They mutter together. Ace looked at Lani, noticing she had started to look a little blue, her eyes downcast towards the floor. Lani sighed and spoke up after a few minutes of silent sulking, her eyes glassy with tears. "I'm really sorry for ruining the day..." She whimpers softly, looking down at her paws as a tear drips next them. "You didn't ruin anything cousin Lani! It's not your fault!" Soda frowned, looking at her as Lani kept her eyes glued to her paws. Camo nodded again, eyebrows furrowing "yeah, it was our numbskull brother's fault." Lani swirls her paw on the carpet, then looks up again. "I know, but...I feel bad having everyone worrying about me....I didn't mean for the visit to go this badly..." Soda nuzzled Lani, her lip pouting out defensively. "Well how could we not worry about you?! You're one of the bestest cousins a pup could ask for!" "Yeah, don't worry about it dude!" Camo agreed, going over to hug Lani as she sniffled. Blitz turned her attention from the movie, a bit disgruntled by the commotion to separate her attention from the handsome super dog. "Now now dears, let's not be down! We're having a sleepover remember?" Lani wipes her eyes a bit, hugging her cousins close "Thanks guys..." They all turned their attention back to the movie, but Ace had his eyes towards the window. Crash hadn't come back yet...? Despite all that happened, Ace still felt worried....He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Hopefully Uncle Fletcher would find him.... And maybe Ace got through to him with his speech...Maybe..... Possibly.... Ace sighed, shaking his head. Probably not in a lifetime... But he could still hope. That maybe one day Crash will realize his mistakes and become a part of the family again...Someday. Category:Fanon Category:Fanon Stories Category:Stories Category:Pups' Adventures Category:Future Generation Category:Contest Entry Category:Stories by Tundrathesnowpup Category:Tundraverse Stories Category:Tundra's Fanon Category:Collaboration Category:Next Generation Category:Second generation Category:Shepherd Family Category:Stories based around the Shepherd Family